2025 College Football Thread: FSU loses to Stanford in battle of academic powers (33 Viewers)

[massraider]

Maybe. Guess I'm not understanding the financial differences between Ole Miss and Florida

Yeah, I don't know that Florida is a for sure better job.

College football's top 50 programs ranked by NIL efforts

Separating the haves and have nots across college football.

247sports.com

This makes it seem like Florida has a bigger budget, but who knows

 

[Desert_Power]

Maybe. Guess I'm not understanding the financial differences between Ole Miss and Florida

Yeah, I don't know that Florida is a for sure better job.

College football's top 50 programs ranked by NIL efforts

Separating the haves and have nots across college football.

247sports.com

This makes it seem like Florida has a bigger budget, but who knows

Oklahoma State has all that money and the best thing they have going for them is shirtless guys in empty sections?

 

[Sparky Polastri]

Sayin is +400 for the Heisman, behind only Mendoza (+340) and Simpson (+360). He is definitely in the convo.

Well, that's no fun. Full disclosure, I have absolutely no idea who is in the Heisman convo. It's probably the least interesting topic in college football for me and I don't really understand the obsession.

I just Googled to see what the odds are currently and got met by this:

Miami's Carson Beck was the Heisman favorite at +360 heading into Week 8. But after throwing four interceptions and no touchdowns in the Hurricanes' 24-21 loss to Louisville, he plummeted to +6000.

Yowsers.

Here's the rest of the article:

2025 Heisman Trophy odds

Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana: +280

What to know: The Hoosiers are 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten, thanks to Mendoza. He first skyrocketed up the Heisman oddsboard after dropping a whopping 63 points on the Illini in Indiana's fourth game of the season with a five-touchdown performance. In Week 7, his 215 yards and one touchdown helped topple No. 3 Oregon, and his Heisman odds surged to +600 from +1400. Then in Week 8, he threw for 332 yards and four TDs in Indiana's 38-13 win over Michigan State, and he surged to +280.

Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama: +300

What to know: Simpson has helped lead the Tide to wins over teams ranked 16th or better in four consecutive weeks. He recorded three total TDs in a massive victory against Georgia, followed it up with a whopping 340 passing yards and two passing TDs in a win over a formidable Vanderbilt squad and then in Week 7, he helped lead the Tide to a 27-24 win over Missouri with 200 yards. In Week 8, his 253 yards and two TDs helped guide the Tide to a 37-20 win over Tennessee.

Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State: +400
What to know: Sayin's odds are surging in this spot, rising to +400 from +1400 over the last week. In the Buckeyes' Week 8 34-0 shutout over Wisconsin, the QB threw for 393 yards and four touchdowns, helping his team improve to 7-0.

Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M: +1000:

What to know: Reed has 1,770 yards through the air and 15 TDs on the season. He had a strong Week 8 performance, passing for 280 yards, three TDs and one rushing TD in the Aggies' 45-42 win over Arkansas.

Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt: +1200

What to know: The Commodores improved to 6-1 after defeating No. 10 LSU in Week 8, and Pavia is leading the charge. He's got 1,569 yards and 15 TDs this year, including 160 yards, one passing touchdown and two rushing TDs in the win over the Tigers.

Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia: +1300

What to know: The Bulldogs are 6-1 and Gunner Stockton is making plays with his arms and legs. He's got seven rushing TDs and 10 passing, with 279 yards on the ground and 1,553 through the air on the season. In the Dawgs' big win over No. 5 Ole Miss, Stockton put up 289 yards passing with four TDs and another touchdown on the ground.

That list tells me there is no favorite at the moment.

This is why I pay very little attention to this award anymore. To me, its this Mendoza kid then everyone else and its not really close. He's done the most with the least against a pretty decent set of teams. Sans Pavia, I don't think any of those listed could be plopped into the lineup at Indiana and have the same success as Mendoza. Obviously we will never know that for sure, so I try to stay away from going down that path.

But then why didn't or couldn't Mendoza find more success at Cal? Indiana brought in a lot of talent, including Mendoza and he's having a great year, but it didn't always look good at Cal for him.
That said, I remember watching him throw when he was a freshman and was dazzled by his arm. Guy can sling it. He sure had no problems making key throws against Oregon this season.

You're probably right and I also think he has made himself a bunch of NFL money this season too.

No idea. I also don't know why any of that matters to this year. We've seen time and time again in all sports that "change of scenery" (and what that entails from culture, coaches, teammates, etc) is seemingly all it take for a player to turn things around.

 

[AAABatteries]

Maybe. Guess I'm not understanding the financial differences between Ole Miss and Florida

Yeah, I don't know that Florida is a for sure better job.

College football's top 50 programs ranked by NIL efforts

Separating the haves and have nots across college football.

247sports.com

This makes it seem like Florida has a bigger budget, but who knows

Talent in the state of Florida is light years ahead of Mississippi- Kiffin seems to have matured and has shown he can get talent and win. It’s really a matter of if both sides want it. Assuming he still has the fire he would do really well, IMO.

 

[Chadstroma]

Class of 2027 OL James Halter has committed to Notre Dame. James is the #14 OL in the country and a top 150 player.

 

[kupcho1]

Class of 2027 OL James Halter has committed to Notre Dame. James is the #14 OL in the country and a top 150 player.

You're doing God's Touchdown Jesus' work here. Thanks for getting the thread back on track.

 

[Chadstroma]

Class of 2027 OL James Halter has committed to Notre Dame. James is the #14 OL in the country and a top 150 player.

You're doing God's Touchdown Jesus' work here. Thanks for getting the thread back on track.

I knew there would be some appreciation for this.... maybe not the same kind of appreciation I have for it but some appreciation nevertheless.

 

[DJackson10]

Maybe. Guess I'm not understanding the financial differences between Ole Miss and Florida

Yeah, I don't know that Florida is a for sure better job.

College football's top 50 programs ranked by NIL efforts

Separating the haves and have nots across college football.

247sports.com

This makes it seem like Florida has a bigger budget, but who knows

Talent in the state of Florida is light years ahead of Mississippi- Kiffin seems to have matured and has shown he can get talent and win. It’s really a matter of if both sides want it. Assuming he still has the fire he would do really well, IMO.

I saw something from someone on one of the Florida blogs comment section. I think this person has their own blog too and said a source told him if the $$$ is right and Florida wants to Kiffin is going there and apparently interested in going there.

 

[General Malaise]

Maybe. Guess I'm not understanding the financial differences between Ole Miss and Florida

Yeah, I don't know that Florida is a for sure better job.

College football's top 50 programs ranked by NIL efforts

Separating the haves and have nots across college football.

247sports.com

This makes it seem like Florida has a bigger budget, but who knows

Talent in the state of Florida is light years ahead of Mississippi- Kiffin seems to have matured and has shown he can get talent and win. It’s really a matter of if both sides want it. Assuming he still has the fire he would do really well, IMO.

Right, the talent is way better in Florida but that hasn't really seemed to help the big Florida schools in recent years. Florida State has 10+ wins in two seasons since they fired Jimbo Fisher in 2017. Florida hasn't won 10+ games since 2019. And Miami has two 10+ win seasons since 2003. So even with all that talent, it hasn't really translated to on-field success. That can't all be due to a negative coaching effect, right?

Well, we'll see what Lane does. It does make sense for Florida to try and poach him. He does run an exciting offense but again, what's his signature win as a head football coach? Beating LSU? Beating #4 Oregon in Autzen in 2011? Peach Bowl? Guy has been coaching a LONG time and I don't really see a resume headline win on his record. But, he does have a solid record in the hardest conference in college, so he definitely has coaching chops.

 

[timschochet]

I never used to root against Ole Miss Now I do. If Lane goes to Florida I’ll start rooting against them too.

 

[massraider]

Oklahoma State has all that money and the best thing they have going for them is shirtless guys in empty sections?

It's just part of it, but it matters. Look at Texas Tech.

If Florida has a much bigger NIL budget than Ole Miss, maybe it is a better gig.

Right, the talent is way better in Florida but that hasn't really seemed to help the big Florida schools in recent years

Yeah, and you know, I wonder if Ole Miss' pull among those deep south states isn't worth more than the state of Florida to Florida, with the schools you need to fight with down there.

 

[massraider]

What's the scummiest option possible? Just thinking about what Lane might choose?

Hitting up the school for a new contract maybe

 

[Moe.]

We’re not seriously talking about Ole Miss and Florida as though those two jobs are on the same level are we?

You’ll have to excuse me, I just learned a couple of weeks ago that Ole Miss is a big rival now so I’m still figuring out the right way to hate them.

 

[Desert_Power]

What's the scummiest option possible? Just thinking about what Lane might choose?

Take the Chapel Hill job and Jordan Hudson?

 

[General Malaise]

We’re not seriously talking about Ole Miss and Florida as though those two jobs are on the same level are we?

You’ll have to excuse me, I just learned a couple of weeks ago that Ole Miss is a big rival now so I’m still figuring out the right way to hate them.

I think we're just asking the question: "Is Florida REALLY a better job RIGHT NOW than Ole Miss"? I think it's a fair question. Historically, the answer has always been "Yes, Florida is a much better job than Ole Miss". Today? I'm not so sure about it. I am curious what others think. Can't be living in the past, man.

 

[Chadstroma]

Florida NIL resources are significantly higher than Ole Miss. I would say Florida prestige is also higher and I would say has other advantages for recruiting such as if you are deciding between the two schools and you visit Oxford Mississippi and then Gainesville Florida... which area is likely to be one you would prefer? At least looking on the outside, if I had to choose between coaching football at the two schools, Florida would easily be my choice. That being said there are real world factors that it is hard to really touch on such as alignment with the AD and administration. I could say loyalty but Kiffin would have to be taught what that word means before he would consider it.

Apparently Florida is targeting him though so it will be his choice.

 

[massraider]

What's the scummiest option possible? Just thinking about what Lane might choose?

Take the Chapel Hill job and Jordan Hudson?

Uh no, that would be the coolest power move eva!

 

[General Malaise]

Florida NIL resources are significantly higher than Ole Miss. I would say Florida prestige is also higher and I would say has other advantages for recruiting such as if you are deciding between the two schools and you visit Oxford Mississippi and then Gainesville Florida... which area is likely to be one you would prefer? At least looking on the outside, if I had to choose between coaching football at the two schools, Florida would easily be my choice. That being said there are real world factors that it is hard to really touch on such as alignment with the AD and administration. I could say loyalty but Kiffin would have to be taught what that word means before he would consider it.

Apparently Florida is targeting him though so it will be his choice.

Can you put this in context? What are the numbers?

I do agree that Florida has bigger and better branding and a larger alumni base. But that hasn't really helped them in recent years. I suppose it's a sleeping giant but man, they are 0-4 since Urbs left and they've spent a lot of money to get rid of their past mistakes.....just like Big Lou, he's on meds too.

 

[General Malaise]

I think the biggest bummer in today's coaching carousel is the negative impact it has on the current season's success - how does Lane tune out the distractions and coach his team to the best of his ability? How do his players and staff respond to the uncertainty? How do the fans react, the AD, etc. This uncertainty can be a real problem. I saw it with Mario Cristobal at Oregon. He seemed distracted and unmotivated towards the end of his final season - a season that saw the Ducks beat Ohio State in Columbus. They ended with two bad losses to Utah where they were uncompetitive.

Ole Miss, good luck the rest of the season. Thankfully Indiana put a stop to this craziness last week. Not sure if Ole Miss has the juice to do that and again, Lane and Curt seem like very different coaches at different stages of their careers.

 

[Chadstroma]

Florida NIL resources are significantly higher than Ole Miss. I would say Florida prestige is also higher and I would say has other advantages for recruiting such as if you are deciding between the two schools and you visit Oxford Mississippi and then Gainesville Florida... which area is likely to be one you would prefer? At least looking on the outside, if I had to choose between coaching football at the two schools, Florida would easily be my choice. That being said there are real world factors that it is hard to really touch on such as alignment with the AD and administration. I could say loyalty but Kiffin would have to be taught what that word means before he would consider it.

Apparently Florida is targeting him though so it will be his choice.

Can you put this in context? What are the numbers?

I do agree that Florida has bigger and better branding and a larger alumni base. But that hasn't really helped them in recent years. I suppose it's a sleeping giant but man, they are 0-4 since Urbs left and they've spent a lot of money to get rid of their past mistakes.....just like Big Lou, he's on meds too.

I looked it up a day or two ago and found something showing Ole Miss was at $8 and Florida at $16 but when I tried to find it again, I am not having any luck... the numbers I have found with the help of AI is $8.8 for Ole Miss and a range of $9-10 for Florida outside of revenue sharing. I think that this is direct NIL payouts.

I mean, Indiana and Georgia Tech prove you don't have to be a recent winner to be a meaningful player. I don't think it is pure numbers... you still have to recruit and let's be honest... going to Ohio St for football is much cooler than going to Tulane. I mean, they don't have the same amount of money but if they did, Ohio St would still be the better spot to be at.

And even with looking at the winning- Ole Miss has 60+ years since a championship and I do not recall them being really in it at least in my lifetime (though I could be missing something). Florida is still less than 20 years removed from one.

I think Kiffin is over rated and I do not like the guy much at all. But that being said, there isn't a ton of "THIS is the guy you hire to take over a top D1 football team right now" and the names that people tend to throw around are already at schools. I have zero fear of Freeman leaving ND but for two places. 1) Ohio St and 2) NFL. But I feel like NFL is something he won't jump on for a bit at least. If Ohio St opened up... I would sweat that out. Cig signed a big extension (he should probably thank Franklin for that as well as him winning). Who else? Penn St and Florida are desirable schools to coach at but who are the desirable coaches to hire? Saban out of retirement?

 

[massraider]

I looked it up a day or two ago and found something showing Ole Miss was at $8 and Florida at $16 but when I tried to find it again, I am not having any luck...

Scroll up to the top of the page

 

[Chadstroma]

I looked it up a day or two ago and found something showing Ole Miss was at $8 and Florida at $16 but when I tried to find it again, I am not having any luck...

Scroll up to the top of the page

I was looking more specific numbers on money spent annually but yea, that should suffice to show that difference in resources from Ole Miss to Florida.

 

[General Malaise]

I think Jeff Brohm will be the top target for PSU.

Kiffen will have a very tough decision to make. Expectations heaped upon him at UF will be massive - especially if they sign him to a crazy expensive contract. The last four coaches averaged just 3.5 seasons so......tick tock, Lane. Once the fans turn, well, you KNOW what that feels like, right Mr. Trojan?

Meanwhile, if he ignores the distractions and coaches Ole Miss into the playoffs, they will name roads after him in Oxford and give him all the seasons he wants. Fans there are far more forgiving and starved for a modern coaching legend.

It'll be a wild finish to the season for a lot of schools. Strap in.

 

[massraider]

I was looking more specific numbers on money spent annually

You won't find them. No one needs to say what they're spending, no one needs to admit what they getting paid, and there's a no official numbers anywhere.

Everything is an estimate. The On3 numbers, etc. People use them as gospel, and it's fun to use, but grain of salt with all this stuff. I find more use in the anecdotal stories, you kinda just get an idea who has a lot of money. I dunno what Texas Tech and A&M have for a budget, but I know it's big.

According to that link, Florida has a lot bigger budget, which sounds right, but I dunno for sure.

 

[General Malaise]

I was looking more specific numbers on money spent annually

You won't find them. No one needs to say what they're spending, no one needs to admit what they getting paid, and there's a no official numbers anywhere.

Everything is an estimate. The On3 numbers, etc. People use them as gospel, and it's fun to use, but grain of salt with all this stuff. I find more use in the anecdotal stories, you kinda just get an idea who has a lot of money. I dunno what Texas Tech and A&M have for a budget, but I know it's big.

According to that link, Florida has a lot bigger budget, which sounds right, but I dunno for sure.

It is an opaque "market" for sure.

 

[Sparky Polastri]

I was looking more specific numbers on money spent annually

You won't find them. No one needs to say what they're spending, no one needs to admit what they getting paid, and there's a no official numbers anywhere.

Everything is an estimate. The On3 numbers, etc. People use them as gospel, and it's fun to use, but grain of salt with all this stuff. I find more use in the anecdotal stories, you kinda just get an idea who has a lot of money. I dunno what Texas Tech and A&M have for a budget, but I know it's big.

According to that link, Florida has a lot bigger budget, which sounds right, but I dunno for sure.

You need much more data to raise NIL rankings to "estimate" worthy. Its all guesses and speculation in the wild wild west.

 

[Chadstroma]

I was looking more specific numbers on money spent annually

You won't find them. No one needs to say what they're spending, no one needs to admit what they getting paid, and there's a no official numbers anywhere.

Everything is an estimate. The On3 numbers, etc. People use them as gospel, and it's fun to use, but grain of salt with all this stuff. I find more use in the anecdotal stories, you kinda just get an idea who has a lot of money. I dunno what Texas Tech and A&M have for a budget, but I know it's big.

According to that link, Florida has a lot bigger budget, which sounds right, but I dunno for sure.

You need much more data to raise NIL rankings to "estimate" worthy. Its all guesses and speculation in the wild wild west.

I feel comfortable in the guess Florida has more resources than Ole Miss.

 

[General Malaise]

I was looking more specific numbers on money spent annually

You won't find them. No one needs to say what they're spending, no one needs to admit what they getting paid, and there's a no official numbers anywhere.

Everything is an estimate. The On3 numbers, etc. People use them as gospel, and it's fun to use, but grain of salt with all this stuff. I find more use in the anecdotal stories, you kinda just get an idea who has a lot of money. I dunno what Texas Tech and A&M have for a budget, but I know it's big.

According to that link, Florida has a lot bigger budget, which sounds right, but I dunno for sure.

You need much more data to raise NIL rankings to "estimate" worthy. Its all guesses and speculation in the wild wild west.

I feel comfortable in the guess Florida has more resources than Ole Miss.

But has Florida been better at deploying their resources than Ole Miss? Going back to 2012, Ole Miss has a better overall record. Same conference, less resources, better results. Pretty nuts.

 

[massraider]

But has Florida been better at deploying their resources than Ole Miss?

And this is the next big change. We're gonna start seeing front office rankings for these schools. Who scouts current players the best, who has the best network nationwide, etc.

A bunch of schools with money spent it poorly. The schools that choose wisely in the portal, the amount of money won't always matter.

 

[Chadstroma]

Anand Nanduri reports that Florida called Freeman. He immediately said no and it was not much of a conversation. Florida is now shifting to Kiffin as their preferred coaching target.

 

[Chadstroma]

But has Florida been better at deploying their resources than Ole Miss?

And this is the next big change. We're gonna start seeing front office rankings for these schools. Who scouts current players the best, who has the best network nationwide, etc.

A bunch of schools with money spent it poorly. The schools that choose wisely in the portal, the amount of money won't always matter.

Which is why I am saying the college football head coach of today is much more in line with that of the NFL as the skillset is more aligned than previous to the portal and NIL.

The college GM role is going to increase in importance and value to take some of the load of managing the resources and non-coaching staff along with having a massive role in recruiting.

But when it comes down to it... it starts with the HC. A bad one, can be a disaster, e.g. Belicheck. A good one can turn a never has been program into a powerhouse overnight, e.g. Cig. But this will also mean that there will be little patience for those big time schools with donors giving massive money and now have a say in things. You give the school millions then you want to see it pay off and if not then you tell the AD that they go or they stop getting your money, e.g. Franklin.

 

[DJackson10]

Anand Nanduri reports that Florida called Freeman. He immediately said no and it was not much of a conversation. Florida is now shifting to Kiffin as their preferred coaching target.

Heard from people I trust at Florida along with a big time blog this isn’t true at all and Nanduri shouldn’t be believed on anything to do with Florida. It’s either baseless speculation, Freeman’s people putting that out there or Scott Strickland and Company putting something out there to excuse them if they go hire some sun belt guy again.

 

[DJackson10]

Dan Mullen tells Zach Gadey after being let go at Florida he told them to hire Kiffin